GED3832

Functional analysis of discourse

Not offered in 1999

Dr L E Farrell

12 points - 3 hours per week - First semester - Clayton

Objectives Upon successful completion of this subject, students should have developed an understanding of the social functions of language and have the ability to undertake functional discourse analysis by drawing on the theoretical work of select linguists from the fields of functional and critical linguistics.

Synopsis This subject is concerned with language in changing social contexts. It raises questions about the choices people make when they speak and write, the choices they make when they take meaning from texts, and the social, cultural and political functions of these choices. It also raises questions about the ways that people learn to make routine language choices and to reject others. These questions are addressed through close attention to discourse. The central focus of the subject is on an analysis of spoken, written and visual texts at the discourse level, with the emphasis on texts which commonly occur in school and workplace education settings. This subject may be of interest to students enrolled in GradDip/MEd(TESOL) or GradDip/MEd(Literacy Studies) and to students who wish to use discourse analysis in their research programs.

Assessment Written (6000 words): 100%

Recommended texts

Halliday M A K An introduction to functional grammar 2nd edn, Edward Arnold, 1995

Back to the 1999 Education Handbook